My Last Breath
by lessa4
Summary: Sequal to Whisper, TalaKai angst.


Whoot! Okay, I said it was coming and here it is! I was proud. Anyway, sequel to whisper, I just realized I never capitalized it . . . -.-; Damn. Oh well, standard disclaimers, and all that rot. You know the drill, reviews are appreciated, 'cause I'm just getting back on track. (BTW, this is kina confusing, so here's what it is. _Text_ is sorta a dream/fuzzy reality, and normal text is either the song or waking reality. 'Kay? 'Kay. -)

Hold on to me love

You know I can't stay long

All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid

Can you hear me?

Can you feel me in your arms?

_"Tala?" I asked quietly, stopping in front of his huddled form. "Tala, I'm here now." He lifted his head from where it rested on a grey stone. An obelisk with my name printed on it. His sad eyes gazed at me, almost as cold and still as the snow that surrounded him._

_Sitting next to my love, I wrapped my arms around his freezing body, trying to coax some heat back into him. But what comfort or warmth can the dead offer the living?_

Holding my last breath

Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you?

_I heard Kai call my name, and looked up to see him standing there. I let out a soft sigh, my breath pluming out in front of me as he knelt down and held me in a firm embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder, the tears that I thought had forsaken me welling in my eyes before painfully spilling onto my cheeks._

_Even as he hugged me, I knew that he was only half with me, that he would never be with me fully while I still drew breath. There were no footprints in the snow, and no steam left his mouth as he spoke soft nothings into my ear. I blinked, trying to see him more clearly, but ice and snow clung to my hair and eyelashes, blurring my vision._

_Maybe it was better that way, maybe I didn't want to wake up._

Sweet raptured light

It ends here tonight

_His skin is so cold it seems to burn. Snowy crystals cover him in a protective sheath, icy armor. His lips are blue, almost matching the color of his eyes, which have faded from being alone for so long. I lace our fingers together, and his hands can barely move, his blood slowing in his veins to the point where it hardly flows at all._

_And unless I can wake him from the daze he has fallen into, I know that my lover won't last the night._

I'll miss the winter

A world of fragile things

Look for me in the white forest

Hiding in a hollow tree

Come find me

_"Kai, I don't want to be alone anymore." He didn't answer me, just pulled me closer. "Don't leave me again."_

_"Tala, you have to wake up, you're so cold ..."_

_"Take me with you this time ... Please."_

_I'm so cold, but I only know this because I'm so numb I don't feel anything. The snow covers everything in sight, the bare trees, and the mounds with polished headstones. It blankets the one I lean on as well, so I suppose I'm in a globe of white too. _

_The snow always reminded me of Kai. Cold, but beautiful. When handled properly, though, it can be so much fun you never want to go back inside. And when it melts, it reveals a surprise that always brings a smile to my face. But it's still one of the most deadly of natural wonders._

_So cold ... I can't move._

I know you hear me

I can taste it in your tears

_A tear falls from his cheek, freezing before it can hit the frosted ground. The wind blows mockingly, making Tala shiver in his inadequate clothes. Never mind waking up, he wouldn't be able to move to warm himself. He needed help. But who would be in the middle of a graveyard during a Russian snowstorm?_

_No one._

Holding my last breath

Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you?

Sweet raptured light

It ends here tonight

_I feel my tears turn to ice on my skin, and I know. But I don't care. It doesn't matter to me anymore. All I want is to see my Kai, to be with him for the rest of forever. "Kai? Please, take me with you, don't let me lose you."_

_Something warm fell on my hand, then disappeared. I stare at him, his eyes bright and slightly blurred, though not because of my ice-covered gaze. His tears mingle with mine, hot and cold, fire and ice. He nodded, and let me go to hold himself for a moment. When he met my eyes again, his were sad and desolate, but resolute. _

Closing your eyes to disappear

You pray your dreams will leave you here

But still you wake and know the truth

_This is what he wanted, and I wouldn't deny him. I wouldn't deny myself. I blow gently on his lips and eyes, bringing warmth and life back into them. He had to wake up, had to know what it was he was doing before I let him throw it all away. I had to know that, without me to hold him, he would still want death._

_As much as I had longed to hear him tell me he was ready and know it was true, I would give him the chance to take it back, for, in the face of death, no one truly knows what it is they want. I didn't._

No one's there.

I opened my eyes and smiled, waiting for him to smirk back at me. But there was nothing. I was alone, in a field of snow and ice, a sub-zero wind matching its cry to the one that sounded in my heart.

"Kai?" I whispered. I felt so lost, I knew he had been here, I wasn't going crazy. "Oh, Kai, please, don't let me have been dreaming. Not again."

Say goodnight

Don't be afraid

Calling me

Calling me as you fade into black

_He called to me, his soul screaming for mine. How could I let such a cry go unanswered? I place my hand to his icy cheek, saw him startle as he felt the touch. Then he relaxed, covered my fingers with his own. Leaning in, I pressed my mouth to his gently, and he returned the kiss. His lips were cold, and even as I pulled away, they became all the colder. _

_The waiting was over; neither of us would be alone ever again._

_Owari_


End file.
